This is my S5 VWD. It was an impluse buy - right time right place. I had not built my R5CA yet - was waiting on the frame to come from Cervelo - and my Colnago developed a crack on its front derailleur bracket. I was at the bike shop discussing the fact that I would not have a bike to ride until we settled up with Colnago on the warranty.

By chance I asked if they has an S5 VWD to look at at they told me they only had one - not built - that had been pre-ordered by someone who never came back to pay for it. The bike was a full DI2 S5 VWD kit from Cervelo in my size.

I am not really a Shimano person - and was alittle weary of electronic grupos - but I asked them to build it. I came back the following morning and liked what I saw so I bought the bike and immediately started upgrading the factory build.

I havent changed that much yet - since the kit from Cervelo is pretty good.

I had never ridden an aero bike before this one - or an electronic grupo - so I was a little worried on the first ride. Although not a full convert to Shimano, or electronic, I have to say this bike is really slick. It is very fast when riding solo - maybe the fastest I have ever ridden alone - shifting is unreal, almost too good - and it is very comfortable to ride.

I only have 3 negative comments on the bike. The first one has nothing to do with the bike, but is a problem for me. Since this is my only Shimano bike, I cannot swap the wheels from this bike to another or vice versa (without swapping hubs and cassettes). At some point I will end up buying lower profile aero wheels on the days when it is super windy. The Ferwegs are no fun in a cross-wind.

Two, since shifting requires so little effort, and never requires any though or adjustment of the front derailleur, it kinda makes the ride a little less interesting / more boring. I miss the extra little effort and adjusting we all are used to when riding a mechnical grupo. Strange but true.

And three, I just think that the top-of-the-line Shimano grupo is ugly. When I put this bike next to a Super Record bike, there is no comparison. The look of Campagnolo is just so much better. Both companies make great, light weight, reliable components, and we can argue about which kit is better for the next 48 hours. However, Shimano has no sense of style. The stuff looks generic and cold. Just put a pair of Shimano cranks down next to a pair of Super Record Ultra Troque.

you have very nice cervelo but why not taking more compact handlebar ( new mcfk is great) in order your shifter to be closer (sorry for my bad english) and to put bigger stemit is only Aesthetics but will match better with size of your bike

IMO, Shimano just works, and there's beauty in the functionality of how Di2 works. It's great in that it's plug-and-play, you set it up once and no more worries. If you're concerned about aesthetics and Campy compatibility, why not consider a swap to EPS? That I hear has the best of both worlds with the mechanical feel.

The S5 goes well with deep rims, and I would say to go no less than 40mm in depth to maintain its aesthetics. Those Fernwegs are beautiful and a great match. I'd swap the crank for a THM M3 like on your R5ca, and that'll make an awesome ride even better.

One day I'll buy myself a second Cervelo as well, one day... Great bike, those LWs look just stunning with this frame. As for the drivetrain, I'm not a fan of Shimano or Sram as well, but this di2 looks amazingly well with this frame. Take care and have fun with those great bikes!

Yeah....talking about the aesthetics of Shimano? Your stem is the flipped the wrong direction and you have a 10' stack of spacers.......how about that for crappy aesthetics! Sounds like you should work on some flexibility and core strength....and buy a hacksaw.

As sexy as slamming the stem is (I'm a big fan of this), it's not right for everyone and it's kind of annoying watching people make comments through the internet without knowing the rider's physiology or body. I found in a fitting session that having my bars way too low was robbing me of power output.

I'm guessing there's a reason for the 90mm stem, hopefully after a proper fitting since IIRC 54 Cervelo's don't come with a 90mm stem.

Yeah....talking about the aesthetics of Shimano? Your stem is the flipped the wrong direction and you have a 10' stack of spacers.......how about that for crappy aesthetics! Sounds like you should work on some flexibility and core strength....and buy a hacksaw.

Wow, really nice of you to make a comment on my riding position without knowing anything about me. You may have noticed that many bike manufactures, including Cervelo, Colnago, BMC and TREK have now designed their high end frames with longer head tubes (or optional longer head tubes). The difference between a Trek H1 and H2 in a size 54 is 2.5CM, more than the amount of spacer that I am using on my S5.

I ride with a few retired pros, and most of them would opt for the higher head tube once they reach the age of 40. In my case its a pinched nerve in my neck that I have been dealing with for the past few months. Once corrected, I will eliminate the spacers, but there could be plenty of reasons for them and you may want to ask before you rip into someone like that.It is also why I have not installed the aero bars on the bike yet.

The thing is, the S5 has a pretty tall head tube to begin with in comparison other bikes in its class. So the questions/comments about the fit do not come as much of a surprise to me, especially given the aero nature of the frame. But I hope you heal quickly and can get into a lower position on the bike soon.

Do you intend on doing TTs with it considering you're going to be installing aerobars? In which case, you probably should add the climbing shifters to the extensions since you have Di2 - I seem to recall a member here doing so but I can't find it.

I'm curious since it wouldn't be the first "hybrid" TT/Road S5 I've seen, but those who have done it were all triathletes.

Who is online

You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot post attachments in this forum